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thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:56 AM
Two Marines killed in Fallujah clash

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) — Two Marines were killed and three others wounded when they came under fire during house-clearing operations in Fallujah, the U.S. military said Friday.
Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said the U.S. troops were ambushed Thursday by insurgents from inside a house as they entered it.

Marines responded with gunfire, killing three rebels hiding inside, Sattler said.

U.S. troops have continued house-to-house clearing operations in the former-rebel stronghold, which came under a massive week-long U.S.-led assault that began Nov. 8. Though most of the major fighting has ended, pockets of insurgent holdouts remain throughout Fallujah.

Sattler said about 50% of the houses in the city have already been cleared.

"We will continue to clear out houses till every one is secure. We've taken more and more of their safehouses. They're running out of places to hide," he said.

Sattler vowed that the city 40 miles west of Baghdad will be safe in time for next January's nationwide elections, adding that "We want every Fallujan to vote from their house."

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:57 AM
Heeding the call: Decatur Christian students work to boost morale of Marines

By SHEILA SMITH - H&R Staff Writer

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DECATUR - Students at Decatur Christian School heeded the call when the Marines asked for their help.

Heather Fronk, 11, of Decatur actually turned writing letters and sending care packages to the Marines into a special Christmas project at her school.

Her teacher, Patty Isenberg, had the fifth-graders go into the computer lab to write letters and send them to Lance Cpl. Eric McKeeman, a U.S. Marine stationed in Iraq. McKeeman is Fronk's cousin.

The effort started after he set up an online journal and his Decatur cousin read it.

On Nov. 2, McKeeman wrote: "All we did was watch Bruce Almighty. However, throughout the entire movie, I was thinking very deeply about everything that I saw on the screen.

"This provoked me to pick up my Bible - I wish that I had somebody that I could pray with, someone I could read the Bible with, someone that just wanted to share in my thankfulness in Jesus."



McKeeman, 22, from Lincoln, Neb., also asked family members to send items to his unit and how they would love to receive letters from the "kids back home."

And on Wednesday, the fifth-graders at Decatur Christian obliged. They began boxing items to be shipped to Iraq - including razors, toothbrushes, baby wipes, anti-perspirant sprays, chips, snack items, chocolate candy and beef jerky.

They also included lots and lots of foot powder and foam insoles for shoes, which McKeeman indicated his unit needed the most.

"I think it's really cool that my cousin Eric is over there serving his country," Heather said.

She wrote a letter to her cousin's unit, mentioning the family's three dogs, a cat and hamster named Zoey, and how her older brother, David, 15, tried to practice wrestling moves on her after joining the wrestling team at school.

The students at Decatur Christian were excited about helping out McKeeman's unit in Iraq.

"I feel good about helping out the Marines and in a way I'm helping out our country," said Peter Smith, 10.

On the Web

See Eric McKeeman's journal at: www.livejournal.com/users/mckeeman

Sheila Smith can be reached at sheilas@;herald-review.com or 421-7963.


Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:57 AM
Army Deserter Jenkins To Be Released <br />
Associated Press <br />
November 26, 2004 <br />
<br />
TOKYO - After 40 years in North Korea and less than one month in a U.S. military jail, Army deserter Charles Jenkins...

thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:58 AM
Chemical Weapons Lab Found in Falluja -Iraq Minister

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A laboratory for the manufacture of chemical weapons has been found in Falluja, an Iraqi minister said on Thursday, but Marines in the city said they were not aware of any such discovery.



"Soldiers from the Iraqi National Guard found a chemical laboratory that was used to prepare deadly explosives and poisons," Minister of State Kassim Daoud told a news conference.


"They also found in the lab booklets and instructions on how to make bombs and poisons. They even talked about the production of anthrax."


On Wednesday, Marines in Falluja said they had found a banner of the insurgent group led by Jordanian al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a chemicals laboratory in Falluja.


But they said there was no indication the lab was used to produce chemical weapons.


It was not clear whether Daoud was referring to the same laboratory. Marines said on Thursday they were not aware of any additional laboratories being discovered, and were skeptical that evidence had been found of the manufacture of chemical weapons.






Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:58 AM
Soldiers Celebrate Thanksgiving
Associated Press
November 26, 2004

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Lt. Sven Jensen's U.S. Marines unit survived for weeks on military rations while living rough in Iraq's Fallujah, so he wangled a truck Thursday and drove his men to the rear for a rare treat: Thanksgiving turkey and cranberry sauce.

While millions of Americans on the home front cheered good fortune and life's bounty Thursday, U.S. forces still under enemy fire in central Iraq sought a hot meal while remembering fallen comrades and offering thanks for the safety of their friends and family stateside.

One Marine, Cpl. Matthew Hummel, forgot the day's celebration. "Days get to blur here, someone had to remind me this morning," said Hummel, 21, from Easley, S.C.

The Fallujah fight "was a nerve-racking experience, so I plan to give thanks that I'm still alive, that my friends and family are well back home, that my girl is waiting for me," he said.

U.S. forces manning front lines in the Sunni Triangle where Iraq's insurgency rages frequently live in abandoned buildings, where they huddle against an early winter chill and excavate brown, plastic pouches of vacuum-packed meals for prized Skittles and M&Ms.

For Jensen, of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, it was time for a break. So he requisitioned a vehicle and drove 40 fellow Marines to a chow hall, where a cornucopia awaited.


"It means more than just the first cooked food they'll have in over two weeks," said Jensen, a 25-year-old from Cobb Mountain, Calif., surrounded by servicemen tucking into Thanksgiving plates at a cavernous chow hall.

They joined a holiday celebration among U.S. soldiers at bases around the world, from an air field in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union - where soldiers decorated their cargo vehicles as floats for a makeshift parade - to Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia - where the region's president joined troops for corn, pumpkin cake and gravy-covered roasted turkey. In Iraq, fighting went on right through the holiday.

"Thanksgiving will help us forget for a while the things we saw in Fallujah, the execution chambers we could smell even before we saw them," Jensen said, referring to buildings where Marine intelligence officers say the enemy carried out beheadings and torture.

Lance Cpl. Christopher Brungo waited impatiently all day in Iraq for 8 a.m. to strike in Mount Vernon, Va., so he could phone his mother for the first time in a month and wish her a happy Thanksgiving. Iraq is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

"We got here Sept. 11 and that day is marked down as a real bad day," said Brungo, 19, a machine gunner on one of the Humvees that made the initial push into Fallujah when the assault began Nov. 8.

"But I'd much rather be here with the rest of my friends and buddies than at home where it's safe. Knowing that I'm doing something important here matters," Brungo said.

Service in Iraq has inspired another Marine, Cpl. Jesse Cowan, to become a minister.

"I have seen here in Iraq a need for God in people's lives," said Cowan, 22, from Huntsville, Ala. "I just wish everyone would have that. If these trials can make me stronger that I can serve God better - so be it."

At the chow hall, workers laid out two giant cakes. One was inscribed with Psalm 116:17 in chocolate frosting: "I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord."

Each table had a card wishing the troops well, sent by post from children back home.

"I am praying about you," wrote Josie, from Missouri.

"I am thankful for you saving America," read another card, signed Monica Dirko, 2nd grade.

For Marines on patrol in Fallujah's shattered streets, food workers arranged delivery. In what they called "Operation Meals on Wheels," Marines loaded up a convoy of three seven-ton trucks carrying turkey, stuffing and soda.

"It made the Marines glad, it brought them just a little bit closer to home," said Staff Sgt. John Flores, 32, of San Antonio. "The operation was a tremendous success."

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:59 AM
Marines Give Thanks in Iraq
Thursday, November 25, 2004

While millions of Americans on the home front cheered good fortune and life's bounty Thursday, U.S. forces still under enemy fire in central Iraq sought a hot meal while remembering fallen comrades and offering thanks for the safety of their friends and family stateside.

One Marine, Cpl. Matthew Hummel, forgot the day's celebration. "Days get to blur here, someone had to remind me this morning," said Hummel, 21, from Easley, S.C.

The Fallujah (search) fight "was a nerve-racking experience, so I plan to give thanks that I'm still alive, that my friends and family are well back home, that my girl is waiting for me," he said.

U.S. forces manning front lines in the Sunni Triangle (search) where Iraq's insurgency rages frequently live in abandoned buildings, where they huddle against an early winter chill and excavate brown, plastic pouches of vacuum-packed meals for prized Skittles and M&Ms.

For Jensen, of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, it was time for a break. So he requisitioned a vehicle and drove 40 fellow Marines to a chow hall, where a cornucopia awaited.

"It means more than just the first cooked food they'll have in over two weeks," said Jensen, a 25-year-old from Cobb Mountain, Calif., surrounded by servicemen tucking into Thanksgiving plates at a cavernous chow hall.

They joined a holiday celebration among U.S. soldiers at bases around the world, from an air field in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union — where soldiers decorated their cargo vehicles as floats for a makeshift parade — to Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia — where the region's president joined troops for corn, pumpkin cake and gravy-covered roasted turkey. In Iraq, fighting went on right through the holiday.

"Thanksgiving will help us forget for a while the things we saw in Fallujah, the execution chambers we could smell even before we saw them," Jensen said, referring to buildings where Marine intelligence officers say the enemy carried out beheadings and torture.

Lance Cpl. Christopher Brungo waited impatiently all day in Iraq for 8 a.m. to strike in Mount Vernon, Va., so he could phone his mother for the first time in a month and wish her a happy Thanksgiving. Iraq is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

"We got here Sept. 11 and that day is marked down as a real bad day," said Brungo, 19, a machine gunner on one of the Humvees that made the initial push into Fallujah when the assault began Nov. 8.

"But I'd much rather be here with the rest of my friends and buddies than at home where it's safe. Knowing that I'm doing something important here matters," Brungo said.

Service in Iraq has inspired another Marine, Cpl. Jesse Cowan, to become a minister.

"I have seen here in Iraq a need for God in people's lives," said Cowan, 22, from Huntsville, Ala. "I just wish everyone would have that. If these trials can make me stronger that I can serve God better — so be it."

At the chow hall, workers laid out two giant cakes. One was inscribed with Psalm 116:17 in chocolate frosting: "I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord."

Each table had a card wishing the troops well, sent by post from children back home.

"I am praying about you," wrote Josie, from Missouri.

"I am thankful for you saving America," read another card, signed Monica Dirko, 2nd grade.

For Marines on patrol in Fallujah's shattered streets, food workers arranged delivery. In what they called "Operation Meals on Wheels," Marines loaded up a convoy of three seven-ton trucks carrying turkey, stuffing and soda.

"It made the Marines glad, it brought them just a little bit closer to home," said Staff Sgt. John Flores, 32, of San Antonio. "The operation was a tremendous success."


Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 07:01 AM
Marines Celebrate Thanksgiving in Iraq

On Thanksgiving, U.S. Marines in Iraq Remember Fallen Comrades, Families Back Home

FALLUJAH, Iraq Nov 25, 2004 — Lt. Sven Jensen's U.S. Marines unit survived for weeks on military rations while living rough in Iraq's Fallujah, so he wangled a truck Thursday and drove his men to the rear for a rare treat: Thanksgiving turkey and cranberry sauce.

While millions of Americans on the home front cheered good fortune and life's bounty Thursday, U.S. forces still under enemy fire in central Iraq sought a hot meal while remembering fallen comrades and offering thanks for the safety of their friends and family stateside.

One Marine, Cpl. Matthew Hummel, forgot the day's celebration. "Days get to blur here, someone had to remind me this morning," said Hummel, 21, from Easley, S.C.

The Fallujah fight "was a nerve-racking experience, so I plan to give thanks that I'm still alive, that my friends and family are well back home, that my girl is waiting for me," he said.

U.S. forces manning front lines in the Sunni Triangle where Iraq's insurgency rages frequently live in abandoned buildings, where they huddle against an early winter chill and excavate brown, plastic pouches of vacuum-packed meals for prized Skittles and M&Ms.

For Jensen, of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, it was time for a break. So he requisitioned a vehicle and drove 40 fellow Marines to a chow hall, where a cornucopia awaited.

"It means more than just the first cooked food they'll have in over two weeks," said Jensen, a 25-year-old from Cobb Mountain, Calif., surrounded by servicemen tucking into Thanksgiving plates at a cavernous chow hall.

They joined a holiday celebration among U.S. soldiers at bases around the world, from an air field in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union where soldiers decorated their cargo vehicles as floats for a makeshift parade to Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia where the region's president joined troops for corn, pumpkin cake and gravy-covered roasted turkey. In Iraq, fighting went on right through the holiday.

"Thanksgiving will help us forget for a while the things we saw in Fallujah, the execution chambers we could smell even before we saw them," Jensen said, referring to buildings where Marine intelligence officers say the enemy carried out beheadings and torture.

Lance Cpl. Christopher Brungo waited impatiently all day in Iraq for 8 a.m. to strike in Mount Vernon, Va., so he could phone his mother for the first time in a month and wish her a happy Thanksgiving. Iraq is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

"We got here Sept. 11 and that day is marked down as a real bad day," said Brungo, 19, a machine gunner on one of the Humvees that made the initial push into Fallujah when the assault began Nov. 8.

"But I'd much rather be here with the rest of my friends and buddies than at home where it's safe. Knowing that I'm doing something important here matters," Brungo said.

Service in Iraq has inspired another Marine, Cpl. Jesse Cowan, to become a minister.

"I have seen here in Iraq a need for God in people's lives," said Cowan, 22, from Huntsville, Ala. "I just wish everyone would have that. If these trials can make me stronger that I can serve God better so be it."

At the chow hall, workers laid out two giant cakes. One was inscribed with Psalm 116:17 in chocolate frosting: "I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord."

Each table had a card wishing the troops well, sent by post from children back home.

"I am praying about you," wrote Josie, from Missouri.

"I am thankful for you saving America," read another card, signed Monica Dirko, 2nd grade.

For Marines on patrol in Fallujah's shattered streets, food workers arranged delivery. In what they called "Operation Meals on Wheels," Marines loaded up a convoy of three seven-ton trucks carrying turkey, stuffing and soda.

"It made the Marines glad, it brought them just a little bit closer to home," said Staff Sgt. John Flores, 32, of San Antonio. "The operation was a tremendous success."

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 07:01 AM
Georgia Unit On Schedule For Iraq
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November 25, 2004

Fort Stewart - Despite growing concerns that terrorists will try to disrupt the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq, the Pentagon has not yet decided to speed up deployment of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), officials said here this week.

Maj. Gen. Glenn Webster, commander of the Fort Stewart based unit, said the timeline for getting most of his 20,000 plus soldiers into Iraq remains a four-week period from early January to early February.

"Since this is not an emergency deployment we will not be all jammed up," Webster said in an interview.

A recent surge in terrorist activity throughout the country has prompted some speculation in Washington that the 3rd Infantry Division might be sent early to provide additional soldiers at a time that many consider crucial for the fledgling government in Iraq.

Webster said that the division's equipment, more than 20,000 vehicles and thousands of cargo containers, is being staged at the Port of Savannah for loading on ships, which is expected to begin in the next few days.




It is possible that troops could be sent ahead of equipment if the situation in Iraq deteriorates more, he acknowledged.

"While that is an option, there is no such consideration at this time to move the division early," he said.

Most of the division's soldiers should be able to spend Christmas and New Year's Day at home before making final preparations for a 12-month tour in Iraq.

An advance group, known as the "Torch Party," will depart shortly after Christmas for Kuwait to ensure many of the logistical details are worked out before the rest of the unit arrives.

The 3rd Infantry Division will be the first major combat unit that fought in the initial stages of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to return to Iraq. About 50 percent of the soldiers who will go back to the war zone are veterans of that fighting, Webster said.

Since the division's return from Iraq it has gone through major changes as part of the Army's efforts to gain more mobility for its combat brigades, each of which has 4,000-5,000 soldiers.

The 3rd Infantry Division increased from three combat brigades to four and more than doubled the size of its aviation brigade to 96 helicopters.

But when it gets to Iraq it will be split. The division headquarters, the 2nd and 4th combat brigades and the aviation brigade will be in the Baghdad area.

The 1st Brigade out of Fort Stewart and the 3rd Brigade out of Fort Benning will be under the control of the New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division headquarters and will be assigned to the northern portion of the Sunni Triangle near Tikrit.

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 07:02 AM
Warrior Course Trains Veterans Army Way
By Spc. Alfredo Jimenez
Army News Service
November 23, 2004

FORT KNOX, KY - All Tyrone Givens wanted was a chance to restart a career in the military.

He got that chance Nov. 4 as he and 101 other former military men and women graduated from the second class of the Warrior Transition Course, which allows former Airmen, Sailors and Marines to bring their valued skills into the Army.

Givens served in the Navy for many years before deciding to separate and search for another job. He said everything was going according to his plan until the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the nation beginning its war against terrorism.

Instinctively, Givens wanted back in the military to do his part and help others in the fight, so he said he was elated when the Army announced it was beginning the Warrior Transition Course.

“I chose to participate in the course and become a second-time volunteer because my country is at war,” said the native of Cincinnati, Ohio. “I couldn’t stand idly by and watch others share the burden.”

While not exactly basic training, the course did offer up challenges aplenty to the Soldiers-in-training, said Pfc. Richard Batts, a classmate of Givens.

“I am a former Marine, therefore, I am already accustomed to the ways of military infantry,” said the native of Lafayette, La. “I do expect, however, to refresh my skills as an infantryman and adapt to the ways of the Army. Believe it or not, the two branches are completely different and it will be difficult to overcome some aspects of my old training.”

For 28 days, the new Soldiers learned everything essential in the Army, from standing at parade rest when talking to a drill instructor to learning the different rank structure. They also spent long periods of time in the field firing heavy machine guns, learning urban warfare tactics, and pulling convoy and checkpoint security details, Givens said.

“In the Navy, I never had to sleep in the middle of the woods or meet a time requirement for assembling my weapon,” he said. “The customs and courtesies are also different.”

Warrior Transition Course officials intend to train 3,200 Soldiers with prior military service in the next year. The program is lauded by Army commanders because it gives them the opportunity to develop leaders who are already seasoned as veterans in their respective former branches of service, said Capt. Tom Oakley, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Division, one of the units conducting the training.

“The folks we get here are just what the Army is looking for because they are second-time volunteers, and that says a lot about them,” Oakley said. “These individuals are motivated, brave and very patriotic. They will serve the Army well by meshing right in with our younger troops.”

The captain added that this is important because more than half of the Soldiers who come through the course will deploy to combat areas within 30 days of completing their advanced individual training.

But that thought does nothing to deter these new Soldiers with their determined and patriotic will to excel in the program and beyond, said Pfc. William Smith, a graduate of the second course.

“This course is preparing me for success and I hope to use this opportunity to get promoted quicker,” said Smith, a native of Greenville, S.C. “I also want to go to Warrant Officer School before I am deployed overseas.”

No matter what their motivations are for signing up in the Army after a hitch with a different service, all of the new Soldiers realize this is just the beginning of bigger and better things, Batts said.

“I honestly believe that all military training better prepares you for anything,” he said. “The military isn’t meant for everyone. It takes a special breed to do what we do. I came back because I love the military and everything it offers, and I want to protect and defend my country from all enemies no matter where they are.”

(Editor’s note: Spc. Jimenez writes for the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service.)



Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 08:56 AM
Four Killed in Baghdad's Green Zone

By MARIAM FAM, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A mortar attack killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded 15 others in the Baghdad's Green Zone, a fortified area that houses the U.S. and Iraqi leadership, the company and British officials said Friday


Britain's Foreign Office said the dead were former Gurkhas, renowned Nepalese soldiers.


"The mortar landed in their camp," said a Foreign Office official on condition of anonymity


Tim J. O'Brien, spokesman for the London-based Global Risk Strategies, said the attack took place Thursday, when multiple explosions were heard and black smoke was seen rising from the fortified zone on the western bank of the Tigris River.


"There was an incident yesterday. We lost four people and had 12 to 15 who were injured," he said. "We can't confirm what this incident actually was until we go through internal investigations."


O'Brien declined to provide the identities of the victims, but said that none of those killed were American.


Global Risk Strategies is a London-based firm that provides security in countries including Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites).


Meanwhile, U.S. forces found 13 more bodies in and around the northern city of Mosul, the military said Friday, bringing to 35 the number of corpses discovered in the past week in the area shaken by an insurgent uprising.


Eleven of the 35 have been identified as members of the Iraqi security forces, who have been targeted by insurgents. The others have not been identified.


"It's a continued campaign of threats, intimidation and murder by insurgents to spread fear into the public. Their campaign has been directed at what appears to be Iraqi security forces," said Lt. Col. Paul Hastings, a spokesman with Task Force Olympia.


U.S. forces patrolling Mosul and nearby Tal Afar on Thursday morning found nine bodies on the western side of Mosul, he said. Two more bodies were found in the city later in the day.


In Tal Afar, one Iraqi National Guard soldier was found dead while a second body discovered in a different location was unidentified.


The military late Thursday had reported the discovery of another two bullet-riddled bodies in western Mosul. U.S. and Iraqi troops were hit by mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire as they were retrieving the bodies, according to Lt. Col. Eric Kurilla of the Army's 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.


The U.S. military spotted at least one team of insurgents firing at them. One Iraqi National Guardsman suffered minor injuries, according to Kurilla.


Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, was the site of a mass insurgent uprising in apparent support of Fallujah guerrillas following the U.S.-led assault on that rebel stronghold on Nov. 8. In the wake of the mass attacks, U.S. and Iraqi forces were sent in to retake parts of the city but insurgents have managed to hit back.


Twenty other bodies have been found in Mosul since last Thursday. At least 10 of the bodies — nine of them shot execution-style — belonged to the Iraqi regular army, based at the al-Kisik military base about 31 miles west of Mosul, near Tal Afar. Four of the bodies found were decapitated.


In Fallujah, insurgents ambushed U.S. troops as they entered a home during house-to-house searches in the former rebel bastion, killing two Marines and wounding three others, the U.S. military said Friday.





Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said the Marines responded with gunfire, killing three rebels hiding inside.

U.S. troops have continued clearing operations in Fallujah, which came under a massive week-long U.S.-led assault that began Nov. 8. Sattler said about 50 percent of the houses in the city have already been cleared.

"We will continue to clear out houses till every one is secure. We've taken more and more of their safehouses. They're running out of places to hide," he said.

Sattler vowed that the city 40 miles west of Baghdad will be safe in time for next January's nationwide elections.

Also Friday, Navy Secretary Gordon R. England warned of more violence in Iraq ahead of the country's nationwide elections but said that U.S. and Iraqi forces will prevail in securing the vote.

"There will be efforts to disrupt the elections," England said on a visit to Marines at a camp outside Fallujah. "The insurgents don't want the elections to be held and certainly not that they be successful. But we will prevail. We will provide the necessary stability."

In the southern city of Basra, Iraqi forces arrested four insurgents who said they were planning attacks against coalition bases and police stations there, officials said Friday, a day after a joint British-Iraqi operation netted three dozen men in the area.

Iraqi National Guardsmen arrested the four after a brief gunfight at the Al-Yarmouk Hotel. Three of the men came from Fallujah and the fourth from Samarra, according to an Iraqi National Guard official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The four men told Iraqi officials they were planning a series of attacks in southern Basra, which is the headquarters for some 8,500 British troops, in an attempt to relieve the U.S. military pressure on Fallujah.

One of the insurgents was injured during the gunfight and weapons were found in their hotel room, the Iraqi official said.

The arrests followed a larger operation Thursday where Iraqi National Guards and police commandos, backed by coalition forces, raided several locations in the town of Zubayr, just west of Basra, said British spokesman Maj. Charlie Mayo.

About 60 British soldiers and 30 Danish soldiers maintained perimeter security as another 60 Iraqi National Guards and police swept through several buildings in Zubayr.

A total of 36 people were detained, all of them from outside the Basra area, along with quantities of weapons, ammunition and drugs, he said.

Iraqi officials said the group included Iraqis, Afghans, and other Arab foreign fighters, though there was no breakdown.

Near the northern city of Kirkuk, gunmen attacked a police station, killing one policeman and injuring three, police said Friday.

Insurgents used machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades in their assault on a police station in Rashad, 30 miles southwest of Kirkuk Thursday night, according to police Brig. Sarhat Qadir.


Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 09:46 AM
Marines Offered Reenlistment Bonuses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tony Perry
LA Times Staff Writer
November 26, 2004

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - With the prospect of continued fighting in Iraq, the Marine Corps is offering bonuses of up to $30,000 - in some cases tax-free - to persuade enlisted personnel with combat experience and training to reenlist.

The plan is working, officials said. Less than two months into the fiscal year, Marine reenlistment rates in several key specialties are running 10% to 30% ahead of last year.

For example, officials are confident that by midyear, they will have reached their target for encouraging reenlistment among riflemen, the "grunts" who are key to the Marines' ability to mount offensives against insurgent strongholds such as Fallouja.

In most cases, young Marines are agreeing to stay in their current jobs for four years. In others, they are allowed to transfer into jobs considered equally vital: recruiters, embassy guards and boot camp drill instructors.

"No amount of money is too much to retain combat experience in the corps, rather than starting over," said Maj. Mark Menotti, assistant head of enlisted retention for the Marine Corps.

Giving bonuses to encourage Marines to reenlist is not new. But this year's bonus schedule marks the first time that "combat arms" specialties have received the largest bonuses. A year ago, the top bonus for a grunt was about $7,000.

Along with riflemen, machine gunners and mortar men, specialties also receiving sizable bonuses are those critical to success in Iraq - including intelligence officers and Arabic linguists.

Lance Cpl. Matthew Jee, 21, of Borrego Springs, Calif., received a bonus of $19,000 to reenlist for four years. An assault man with expertise in firing the Javelin rocket, he planned to shift to the intelligence field.

"They need a grunt's view of what kind of intelligence you need when you're out there on the street," Jee said at Camp Pendleton, where he recently returned after seven months in Iraq.

Sgt. Joey W. McBroom, 30, of Lafayette, Tenn., a rifleman, said he had planned to reenlist even without the bonus, but the $28,039 "helped my wife to agree to my reenlisting."

In an e-mail from Iraq, McBroom said he planned to put 40% of the bonus in a mutual fund, 30% in an account for his children's college educations, 15% in savings and the remainder for "a nice wedding ring for the wife, finally."

Another rifleman, Cpl. Anthony Mazzola, 23, of Fort Worth, has more immediate plans for his $21,700. "I plan to take all of my money to Vegas and have a crazy weekend," he e-mailed from Iraq.

The Marine Corps has earmarked $52 million in bonuses for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, up $1 million from the prior year.

Two-thirds of the bonus money will go for Marines reenlisting for a second hitch. One-third will go to enlistees signing up for a third or fourth tour. Officers - except in particularly difficult-to-retain specialties such as aviation and law - are not eligible.

The amount of the bonus is determined by a formula involving the length of reenlistment, how early the Marine makes the commitment and a multiplier determined by the commandant of the Marine Corps. Among other things, the multiplier involves a statistical analysis of how much money will be needed to ensure that enough Marines reenlist in a particular specialty.

Take, for example, a sergeant trained in tank warfare.

If the sergeant reenlists for four years, his bonus is determined by multiplying his monthly pay - $1,817 - by four. That figure then is multiplied by four, a rate set by Marine officials for his skill. The highest skill multiplier is five. For the sergeant, the bonus computes to $29,072. If he reenlists while in Iraq, his bonus, like his regular pay, is tax-exempt.

For grunts, the bonuses are also a sign of recognition.

Cpl. Steven Forrester, 22, a machine gunner from Centerville, Tenn., said he was "glad they finally realized our job is dangerous." He received $22,796.

Cpl. William Stoffers, 22, a machine gunner from Redding, said the size of the bonus for his specialty was a pleasant surprise:

"I think it's fitting to have this amount because we are put through more stressful things than a normal Marine," e-mailed Stoffers, who is in Iraq; his total was $21,000.

Among combat veterans, there is a sense that they are being paid for having learned things that cannot be taught at the school of infantry. Many are eager to pass that knowledge to others.

Cpl. William Jones, 22, of Tulsa, Okla., a rifleman, received a bonus of $19,000 and now wants to teach Navy corpsmen how to handle combat. "The more Marines we have who've been over there, the better off the corps is going to be," he said. "It's going to cost money, but it will save lives."

Sgt. Deverson Lochard, 23, from Lakeville, Mass., a machine gunner who received a bonus of $23,000, wants to become a drill instructor and, after he becomes a U.S. citizen, an officer.

Like Jones and Jee, Lochard, who was born in France, was in combat at Ramadi and is now back at Camp Pendleton.

"I want to teach junior Marines how to go into combat and come back alive."

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 10:16 AM
U.S. Warns Of Violence Before Elections
Associated Press
November 26, 2004

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Navy Secretary Gordon R. England on Friday warned of more violence in Iraq ahead of the country's nationwide elections in January but said that U.S. and Iraqi forces will prevail in securing the vote.

"There will be efforts to disrupt the elections," England said on a visit to Marines at a camp outside Fallujah. "The insurgents don't want the elections to be held and certainly not that they be successful. But we will prevail. We will provide the necessary stability."

In Fallujah, Marines continue house-to-house clearing operations to root out the last insurgents from the former-rebel stronghold that came under a massive weeklong U.S.-led assault starting Nov. 8.

Though most of the major fighting has ended, pockets of insurgent holdouts remain throughout Fallujah. On Thursday, two Marines were killed and three others wounded when they were fired on while trying to clear a house in Fallujah, the military said.

England stressed security was a vital concerns for the elections, especially in the surrounding province of Anbar, mostly populated by Iraq's minority Sunnis.




"There has to enough people in the election to make this representative. It doesn't mean everybody has to vote but it does always have to be representative," he said. "The insurgents do not want a secure environment. They want chaos in this country."

England drew a parallel with the situation in Afghanistan, where "prior to elections, there was a lot of insurgency."

"But after the elections, the country made great progress and I expect the same thing will happen here in Iraq," England said. "Once we get past the elections, as the economic phase starts, I expect you will see greater stability in this area."

England also said he wanted to thank the Marines for their efforts in the former insurgent haven.

"What you are doing here is vital and critical," he told a gathering of several hundred Marines at a base near Fallujah. "The battle for Fallujah I believe has broken the back of the insurgents. It doesn't mean the insurgents are gone, but I believe this was a major effort by all our military forces against the insurgents."

Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said about half the houses in Fallujah have already been cleared.

"We will continue to clear out houses till every one is secure. We've taken more and more of their safehouses. They're running out of places to hide," he said.

Sattler vowed that the city that lies 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad will be safe in time for elections.

"But there is a big job to do, and that's to reinstate the rule of law, to give back Fallujah to Fallujan people, restore the essential services in town," he said, adding that "We want every Fallujan to vote from their house in the election, that's our goal."

Sattler presented England with a trophy Kalashnikov rifle, "one of the tens of thousands taken from here, from the hands of thugs who thought Fallujah was their safe haven."

"To that we say: No more," Sattler added.

England also decorated a Marine combat engineer, Lance Cpl. Joseph Judan, with a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action.

Judan, 26, from Jacksonville, Florida, was on a patrol Nov. 4th along Fallujah's southern outskirts when his Humvee was ambushed after running into a roadside bomb. Judan was injured in the forehead by shrapnel but returned to duty the next day.

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 11:25 AM
Local Family Opens Home To Ft. Knox Marines For Thanksgiving

By Dina Kaplan

(LOUISVILLE, November 25th, 2004) -- It was an unusual, but heart-warming Thanksgiving for some Fort Knox Marines. Unable to travel home for the holidays, they spent Thanksgiving with families they only met one day earlier. WAVE 3's Dina Kaplan reports.

War stories held a special significance at the Tilfords this year, with four generations of one family inviting two marines from Fort Knox to join them for Thanksgiving dinner.

Private Frank Winter's family is in Wichita, Kansas. "I couldn't afford the flight home," he said.

Private Jose Vargas wasn't able to visit his family in Long Beach, California. But they still broke broke bread with family this Thanksgiving -- with an "adopted family" they just met Wednesday.

Bill and Marie Tilford are part of Operation Turkey, a program that pairs Marines who can't get home with families only to happy to play host to people willing to put their life on the line for our country.

"We're so grateful to these young men and what they're doing for this country," Bill said. "And we certainly didn't want to see them missing Thanksgiving."

Marie seemed to immediately form a motherly bond with the two young men. "I have a very, very soft spot in my heart for the ones going into the military, especially so young."

The Tilfords' passion for the service is personal. Marie's father served in World War I, and Bill's father fought in World War II. Both say they understand why Thanksgiving shouldn't be spent in the barracks.

"It's just not conducive to a Thanksgiving feeling, to the spirit of the holiday," Bill said.

So Frank and Jose enjoyed a home-cooked meal -- the only requirement from the Tilfords was that both marines stop calling them "sir" and "ma'am."

By the end of the meal, it wasn't the Tilfords and two Marines as guests, but one extended American family, celebrating an American holiday.

Both Sgt. Frank Winters and Sgt. Jose Vargas will be attending Light Up Louisville Friday, collecting donations for the "Toys for Tots" program. If you would like to give, just bring a new, unwrapped toy to the city tree at 6th and Jefferson.

WAVE 3 will bring you live coverage of the Light Up Louisville ceremonies from 7 until 8 p.m.

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 11:55 AM
The Fallen, the Lieutenant and the Saints
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By LtCol Mark A. Smith

On Tuesday 16 Nov 04, I had the honor of taking my command element forward to Fox Company's position for the Field Memorial Service for Corporal Brian R. Prening, F Co, 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, killed in action against enemy forces Yusufiyah, Iraq. Now, I say honor, because as tragic as the situation was, and as painful as it was, what I witnessed that day is forever and indelibly etched into both my consciousness and my soul. So, if you will allow me, I will try my utmost to communicate to you the events as they unfolded that day.

Fox Company has been forward in FOB St. Joseph for over two months now, attempting to bring stability to an area that had not had a presence of Multi-National Forces. As I have communicated to you previously, it was an absolute bastion of Radical Islamists and Terrorists, who had brutalized the citizens in unspeakable terms. Well, the WARRIORS of Fox Company have put an end to that. And, for the terrorists, many of whom are believed to have been the leaders of the insurgency in Fallujah, have been attempting to come home. Sad fact for them, Fox Company now owns their permanent zip code. So, on the day of Cpl Prenning's unfortunate death, the enemy, for the first time, chose to actually stand and fight. They did, and at the end of the day, over forty of them lie dead on the battlefield. And, over the course of the last week, throughout our zone, but especially in Fox's, we have rounded up and arrested over 120 of them. That said, and for all the fantastic work of the Battalion elements, this day was no cause for celebration, it was our time to mourn our honored dead.

As the leadership of the Company, the Battalion and the Marines of Cpl Prening's platoon gathered for the memorial, the atmosphere was sheer solemnity. The Marines of Fox were layered with the Iraqi dust that they have called home for 60 days plus. The smell of sweat that eminates from them can only be described as the smell of freedom. That combination of sweat, dirt and emotion that combines to create an aroma that is not repugnant in the least, but serves to stimulate the Warrior gene that you are among "special knights of the warriored breed."

The ceremony began with the placing of the rifle, helmet boots and dog tags of the fallen Marine, and was followed by Scripture readings, Company Commander memorial and teammate remembrances. The Marines that knew Cpl Prening best, memorialized him, through their tears and emotions, in a manner that I know would have made his family swell with pride. They were eloquent beyond imagination, and their words were a lance to the soul in their beauty and truth.

Then came his Plt Cmdr, 1stLt Mayne. Now, before I continue, I must describe 1stLt Mayne. I have been in a few scraps in my day, and truth be known, kind of enjoy that. But, 1stLt Mayne is one of those physical figures that you see and immediately think, if I can avoid a scrap with this lad, that would most probably be the preferred course of action. Additionally, since the day we arrived, 1stLt Mayne's combat accomplishments have been EXTRAORDINARY! His actions have been right in the face of the enemy, and he has stared death squarely in the eye on several occassions, and has done nothing but lead his Marines is a calm and professional manner that has absolutely confounded the enemy each and every time, and more often than not, lead to many of the enemy achieving their goal of martrydom!

But, on this day, the Lt Mayne that I saw was not the Warrior. No, the Lt Mayne I saw on this day was the Man. And, it embarasses me not one bit to say I only hope to be one tenth the Man I saw in Lt Mayne on that day. He spoke of his admiration for Cpl Prening and Cpl Prening's actions in a manner that crushed your soul and made you want to scream that you were not worthy of sharing the same room as these Warriors. He spoke of the need to channel and contain the rage and always honor Cpl Prening by only killing in righteousness and in accordance with the rules. He spoke of the "decent people of Iraq" who we are here to liberate. He spoke of all these things in a manner and among those who must do it in a way that should shame every person who has ever ascribed any attribute to our Marines, other than hero.

Having done that, he then finished with a prayer. A prayer that he stated he prays every night, and in knowing this man and the quality of his character, I suspect he prays it one hundred times a day. As he prayed the prayer of St. Ignatius aloud, I can tell you, I have never felt such overwhelming pain and peace, all at the same time. I have never been so destroyed and fullfilled, all at the same time. I have never been so torn, and so complete, all at the same time. Upon relfection, I understood how I could have such dichotomous feelings all at once. Because in that thirty second prayer, prayed aloud by a man and Marine Officer who will forever have my undying respect and admiration, I realized in the prayer of St. Ignatius, the eternal reality of our temporal struggle: GOOD VS. EVIL. And, I was standing, humbled to the bone, among the agents of GOOD.

Maybe I am wrong, but I believe in my heart and soul that everything has a time and a purpose under God. And at that time and for this purpose, God used Cpl Prening and Lt Mayne, that we would know our struggle is right, and that our will be not shaken, and that for our children and the future of our Great Nation, we will see this through until there is nothing but peace for our future generations. And, that for that struggle, there is a price paid in death, in visible scars and in invisible ones.

So, for LCpl Daniel R. Wyatt, Cpl Nathaniel T. Hammond, LCpl Shane K. O'Donnell, LCpl Branden P. Ramey, Cpl Robert P. Warns II, Cpl Peter J. Giannopoulos, Cpl Brian R. Prening, the next time you see a US Veteran, you shake his hand and say thank you. You shake his hand with the ferocity of firmness that says I love you, and I thank you for my freedom. If you get the chance, you go to a US Veterans hospital and you gently stroke the head of our wounded and broken from all wars, in a manner that says, do not be afraid, for I am here with you friend, I love you and I thank you. You do all this if you can, because everything we have, everything we are, we have and are because of their unbelievable sacrifice! And for that my friends, you and I should be eternally grateful and eternally humbled, for we have walked with the Saints!

St Ignatius' Prayer

Lord give me the strength to serve you as you deserve;
To give, and not to count the cost;
To fight, and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest;
To labor, and not to seek reward, save that of knowing that I do your will.

May God continue to bless you and bless you abundantly, as he does me everyday that I share this earth with your beloved. And may he grant strength, peace and serenity to the families of our fallen heroes.

Mark A. Smith
LtCol, USMCR
Commanding Officer
TF 2/24

Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 12:01 PM
President phones Marine
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Alan Morrell
Staff writer

(November 26, 2004) - For Lance Cpl. Nathan Clarke of Greece, Thanksgiving Day started with a telephone call from President Bush.

The call was an honor for Clarke, who is serving with the U.S. Marines in Africa as a member of the 8th Tank Battalion.

But it also was a bittersweet reminder, because Clarke's best friend since childhood and fellow Marine, Brian Schramm, was killed in combat in Iraq last month.

Clarke was granted a 10-day pass to return home for Schramm's funeral because of their strong friendship - an almost unheard-of happenstance, because the Marines normally only grant such requests for immediate family members. The unusual and touching story made its way to the White House, which led to Bush's call to Clarke. Bush called nine other members of the armed forces on Thanksgiving Day.

"President Bush made note of Brian, and that Nathan recently lost a best friend in the fight in Iraq," said Nathan's father, Allan Clarke of Greece. Nathan called his parents and spoke with his dad and mother, Virginia, after talking with Bush.

"He thanked him three times for his service to the country and expressed his deep, deep sympathy for his loss," Allan Clarke said.

Nathan Clarke and Brian Schramm met in pre-school and immediately hit it off.

They attended Greece Olympia High School together and, while students there, spent a summer together as exchange students in Germany.

Schramm was on his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed Oct. 15. His team was struck by enemy fire in Iraq's Babil Province, south of Baghdad, and Schramm died after being hit by shrapnel.

"He was an absolute super kid," Allan Clarke said of Schramm.

Clarke, whose unit was activated in June, was one of 250 Marines stationed in Djibouti, Africa, when he got the news. After several phone calls, Clarke got permission to come home for the funeral. He even was designated as the official escort for Schramm's body, said Allan Clarke, but was not able to perform that role because he was stationed so far away.

Nathan arrived at the Buffalo airport at the same time Schramm's body was being driven back to Rochester.

Clarke is expected to return home in February, when his tour of duty is scheduled to end. He wants to transfer to another unit with the potential for more action, his father said.

And while the call from the commander in chief was humbling, Nathan Clarke remained torn, his father said.

"Nathan felt bad, because the only reason he was singled out was because of the situation," Allan Clarke said. "He just wishes it was under different circumstances. But I told him, 'A lot of this has to do with who you are.' They knew he would do the Marines proud. I'm proud of him."

AMORRELL@DemocratandChronicle.com


Ellie

thedrifter
11-26-04, 06:10 PM
Retirees provide Thanksgiving to Marines <br />
November 26,2004 <br />
Timmi Toler <br />
Freedom ENC <br />
<br />
JACKSONVILLE - If you've got to prepare enough Thanksgiving chow to feed more than 2,000 service members...